Paper Hearts
by dewdrop.juri
Summary: In which one humid evening, at a certain convenience store, Nagare Kaede meets a boy with mismatched hair and gentle hands. For the first time in her entire life, she was thankful she got dead-ass drunk on a Friday night. [Quirkless!OC x Todoroki Shouto]
1. Graceless First Impressions

The moment Kaede stepped outside of the bar, she felt the whole world spin underneath her feet.

Cursing under her breath. the 20-year old redhead stumbled in her steps, raising a hand to massage her temple in order to dissipate the tell-tale signs of an incoming migraine.

Sighing, Kaede begins to walk, her eyes taking in her surroundings in an attempt to refocus. Bright lights from specialty shops blinked, signboards displaying the products they sold in hopes of attracting new customers. In the distance, off-key singing and raucous, drunken laughter echo from the patrons of surrounding karaoke bars. People brush by her as she walked-an exhausted salaryman hustling to catch the last train home, pretty girls decked in party outfits on the way to nightclubs, a pair of foreigners discussing something about eating at the nearest izakaya, a male high school student on the way to grab something to eat after cram school lessons.

An upward glance at the flashing billboards hanging from twenty-storey buildings showed a grinning, stocky blonde man decked in a tight-fitting hero costume; an advert for a new kind of deodorant, Kaede reckons.

"All Might, the Symbol of Peace." Kaede murmurs under her breath. "...a hero, huh."

Born Quirkless, Nagare Kaede never understood the allure of the hero profession. To her, the fast-paced, adrenaline-pumped lifestyle that pro-heroes go through everyday was not something that attractive for her. Kaede preferred the relaxed, tranquil life of being an ordinary civilian. While her peers grew up trying to rein control over their Quirks, Kaede became invested with the arts. Others figure out how to keep everything around them float or prevent things from exploding; she tinkered with the controls of her father's old camera. While everyone else was applying for specialized schools dedicated to hero-training, Kaede applied for a degree in the Arts, majoring in Film at a local university that catered to both Quirkless and to those with Quirks.

The pursuit of villains, rescue operations, and securing the peace and order of town seemed like something from another world to Kaede, a world seemed to be out of the yellowed pages of the vintage comic books her father used to collect. She preferred to go on weekend trips to the country or to sightsee around the city, filming tidbits of life that she could use for her next project. On other days, she holes up inside her favorite coffee shop near the dorms for hours, hunched over her sketchbook, coming up with storyboards or scripts while sipping her Espresso.

Her train of thought halts when her footsteps bring her to a small convenience store at the heart of this district. The store was named Niko-Niko, and true to its name, Kaede crooks a smile at the cute smiley face etched on the brightly-lit signboard. A quick glance inside showed the store almost empty of customers and a handful of clerks assigned on the night shift.

Another bout of alcohol-induced migraines wreck her head, and this time, she was forced to hunch over to the little side alley next to the konbini, bile rising up to her throat, inciting her to empty the contents of her stomach.

"Should've held back on the tequila, damn it..." Kaede groans, sinking to a sitting position with her back to the wall. "I feel like shit." Holding up a palm to her mouth, she closes her eyes as she evens out her breathing, suppressing the urge to hurl, at least up until she arrives back at the dorms.

She isn't the type to go out and drink often, but today was a celebration that warranted a few drinks-their group got their 20-minute documentary about the local street art scene approved after 3 rejections on the earlier versions they had presented to their professor. Her groupmates dragged her out to grab some drinks even though Kaede refused, just wanting to catch up on sleep after staying up late for 3 consecutive days while editing said documentary, but the group members insisted, even going as far as to treat her to a meal. Kaede had agreed, but upon entering the bar, the guys challenged each other to a drinking contest. She had participated and ended up downing 4 bottles of tequila before she excused herself after feeling the drink's effects.

Kaede was now regretting that decision at the moment. Right now, she was feeling like she had been spinning on an endless loop while riding a roller coaster, her head close to bursting.

"I need to go home, I just want to sleep." She grumbles, propping herself against the nearby wall to support herself. "I'm not going out like this again, I swear-"

 _"Are you alright?"_

Kaede stops her mumbling when a voice calls out to her. Blinking to re-orient her vision at the sudden interruption, she feels her world stop at the sight of the figure who called out to her.

It was a guy, with mismatched white and maroon hair, eye colour undiscernible to Kaede due to the dim lighting offered by the street lights. He was decked in a plain white tee and a pair of dark-coloured jogging pants, carrying a plastic bag from Niko Niko Konbini in his right hand.

 _Whoa_ , Kaede mulls in her head. _An attractive person...!_

"Uhm, are you alright?" The guy asks again, something akin to confusion settling on his features when Kaede failed to answer his question first time. "You seemed like you were in pain."

"Ah, I'm sorry." Warmth seeped into Kaede's face, partly due to alcohol influence, partly due to embarrassment. "I'm okay-"

And just before she could reassure him she was perfectly fine, her body had decided it was a perfectly opportune time for her to disgrace herself.

Clasping a hand to her mouth, Kaede crouches down to the pavement, heaving the contents of her stomach into a nearby garbage dump.

* * *

When he exited the convenience store, Todoroki Shouto picked up the sounds of someone groaning in pain.

He halts in his steps, the plastic bag containing a bottle of oolong tea and two onigiris rustling with his movement. His gaze darts back to the store's premises, catching sight of Iida Tenya holding two packs of fruit tea, obviously stuck deciding whether he should get the mango or apple-flavoured one.

The groans continued, so with one last look at his classmate, Todoroki walks towards the source of sounds. His footsteps take him to the nearby alley next to the konibini, and while he got closer, the sounds suddenly stop, now shifting to a series of muffled mumbling.

His hero instincts kick in, senses heightened in case it was an injured person or a villain on the loose. Approaching the alley carefully, his guard drops at the sight of a lady.

Leaning against the wall was a dark-haired woman in a pencil skirt and a grey long-sleeved blouse. Her eyes were closed, brows furrowed in what Todoroki assumed was discomfort.

Without a second thought, he calls out to her.

"Are you alright?"

At the sound of his voice, he observes as the woman blinks her eyes open, brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of the person who called out to her. Her eyes met his and Todoroki blinked in confusion as she seemed to have blanked out at his appearance.

"Uhm, are you alright?" He repeats his question again, when she didn't answer him first time. "You seemed like you were in pain."

She made a face with what seemed like getting a realization before mumbling an apology. She seemed to reassure him that she was okay, but before the words came out of her mouth, she had sprinted to the nearby garbage dump and vomited.

Surprised at the sudden action, Todoroki only watches, clueless as to what he could do to help. As the girl continued to hurl the contents of her stomach, he hesitates before moving towards her and crouching to her level.

Reaching out, Todoroki places his hand to her back, moving in soothing circles as she continued to vomit. In events like these, he's reminded of his mother, of her warmth and her soft touch against his back while he suffered similar bouts of vomiting after the harsh training sessions he had endured with his father as a child.

The girl flinches slightly under his touch, and upon instinct, Todoroki withdraws.

"Ah, I'm sorry." He apologizes, scooching away from her as she tried to stand up.

"I-it's alright. You have nothing to apologize for." The girl murmurs, drawing out a handkerchief from her skirt's pockets to cover her mouth. "It's my fault for being too carried away at drinking earlier."

Her voice sounds muffled behind the piece of fabric covering her mouth, and her gaze was pinned at somewhere in the distance, purposely avoiding eye contact with him.

 _Ah, of course. She'd be embarrassed. Anybody would._

"Oh. I see." Todoroki mumbles instead. The woman merely shuffles in her steps, eyes darting all over her surroundings before refocusing on his gaze, as if she wants to say something.

"Erm, actually-" She starts, and Todoroki stands still, patiently waiting for her to finish what she was saying.

 _ **"TODOROKI! Where are you? We need to go!"**_

Iida Tenya's voice resounds throughout the area, and Todoroki glances behind him to see their bespectacled class rep running in place, carrying a plastic bag from the convenience store.

"We will be penalized if we go back to the dorms past curfew-"

"Ah, yep. I got it. I'll be right behind you."

"So you say, then!"

Todoroki watches as the other boy sprints towards the direction of the UA High Dorms before returning his attention to the lady in front of him.

"Would you be fine-"

"Yes, I will be! No worries!"

She interrupts him before he could offer to at least walk her to the nearest bus station. Todoroki blinks.

He wanted to ask if she'll be fine, but seeing the resolute face she was making, decided not to question her further.

"Vomiting helped me sober up a bit." She reassures, glancing past behind him and making a sweeping gesture with her arm. "You should probably go? Missing curfew is a bad thing."

 _That was true. Aizawa-sensei does not tolerate rule-breakers after all._

Todoroi nods at her, but before he could walk back into the streets, he pulls out the bottle of oolong tea from his plastic bag and extending it to the woman. She blinks in confusion at the offered drink.

"Ah, this could help with your hangover." He explains, straightening up to his full height. He exchanges glances with the woman once again enough to catch a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Thank you." She mutters, bowing slightly. "Then, in exchange for this bottle of tea, please take this."

She hands out a rectangular piece of card stock, and Todoroki accepts, bewilderment clouding his expression at the piece of paper she gave to him.

"My contact details are in there. Please contact me whenever." She remarks. "As thanks, for what you did today."

Todoroki merely nods at her suggestion, before bowing slightly and turning his back to her. He takes one last look at the woman in the alley, then turns to the peach-colored business card, before pocketing it in the back pocket of his jogging pants and heading back to the dorms.

* * *

As the boy left, Kaede heaved a deep sigh.

The bottled oolong tea was still cool to the touch, and carefully, she twists the bottle cap open before downing a huge amount in one gulp. The refreshing flavor of the tea down her throat sobers her up and she makes her way out into the streets and into the bus stops in time for the last trip of the evening.

As she leans against the windows, seated at the back seats of the vehicle, Kaede closes her eyes.

Soon her thoughts drift. She thinks of the kind boy with the mismatched hair and gentle hands, and wondered if by chance, she could see him again.


	2. Day Off

Hospitals are like a second home for Kaede.

Her father, Nagare Hiroto, always had a weak constitution since he was young. Getting involved in a car accident three years ago had led Kaede's father to a weakened state, prompting extended stays in the hospital. Back then, Kaede had always spent afternoons after her classes ended inside his room, bringing his favorite pudding and a few pictures she had snapped on the way. She would talk with him for hours on anything- from her situation in school, to the local events, and even exchange a few arguments with him back and forth on contemporary issues in society.

For months, that was her usual routine-going to school, to the hospital, and then go back home. Yet when her father passed away in the winter of the previous year, it all came to a halt.

Now, she finds herself walking through the same austere hallways of Genji General Hospital, carrying a box of pudding in her right hand and shouldering the strap of her grey backpack on her left shoulder.

The all-present antiseptic scent was still there, as well as the hurried pace of doctors and nurses in a blur of white uniforms, sleeping relatives of a patient while they wait outside the general wards, and occassionally, the heart-wrenching wail of a mother or a child upon the sight of a dead loved one.

 _Room 317 ...Room 317..._

The redhead takes a right turn, ascending the flight of stairs just across the maternity ward, before going straight down a similar hallway towards the private rooms. The nurse on duty, a soft spoken brunette, with Kaede before the former tilts her lips upwards into a smile.

"Hidemoto-san's granddaughter?" The nurse asks, already familiar with Kaede's sight around the hospital. The redhead returns the nurse's smile.

"Please call me Kaede." She prompts, before turning her eyes to the second door to her right. "Is grandpa doing well?"

"Oh, he's stabilized for now." The nurse follows her gaze, pausing for a small while before continuing. "Yasumoto-sensei administered his dose of medicines for today a while ago."

"I see." Kaede murmurs, grip tightening on the paper handle of the box of pudding, before turning to the nurse with a bow. "Thank you for always taking care of my grandfather."

"Just doing my job, dear." The nurse replies before gesturing to the direction of the private room. "Hurry on now, I'm sure Hidemoto-san's expecting your arrival."

Kaede straightens her posture, flashing the nurse one last grateful smile before taking a couple of steps towards the room. Exhaling slowly, she raises a fist, before rapping three times on the wooden surface of the door. When no one answers, her hand moves to the doorknob, turning it sideways to open it.

The blast of cool air from the room's AC unit hits her right in the face, and Kaede revels in the pleasant sensation she felt along her skin. The summer heat outside was unbearable, and that accompanied by her getting stuck in the crowd during rush hour at the train station made Kaede wonder on how she managed to survive not getting a heat stroke while underneath the glaring rays of the sun.

 _"Kae-chan, is that you, Kae-chan?"_

Her grandfather's voice snaps Kaede out of her thoughts, her eyes automatically moving to the seated figure on the hospital bed. Hidemoto Yuuki, her grandfather and her mom's father, rested his back against two propped pillows, his gnarly fingers thumbing through the well-worn pages of an old book, grey eyes squinting behind round spectacles as he turmed towards Kaede's figure in the room.

"Yes, it's me, grandpa." Kaede answers, footsteps shuffling towards her grandfather's bedside, placing the box of pudding on the nearest table amd dropping her backpack on the floor. "How are you feeling today?"

"Never better." The older man replies, closing his book and laying it across his lap before taking a look at his granddaughter. "There was no need for your mother to panic over a simple headache."

"It can't be helped." Kaede quips, settling down at the chair before she continues. "This heat is perilous to old people like you, grandpa-ow!" The redhead stops her sentence with a cry of pain, her grandfather effortlessly reaching out to flick her forehead. The girl pouts at the old man, eyes narrowing into a childish glare. "What was that for, Yuuki-jiichan?!"

"Ai-yah, you brat! Who are you calling old?" Her grandfather scolds her, his grey eyes flaring straight into Kaede's hazel irises. "I'll have you know, I still have some spunk left in me!"

"Okay, yes, yes..." Kaede sighs in defeat, leaning back into her seat with her hands folded in her lap. "If you say so, Gramps."

Grandpa Yuuki harrumphs, crossing his arms across his chest before his gaze wanders to the brightly colored box resting on top of table. His eyes widen a fraction, a glint of delight flashing at the familiar appearance of his favorite snack.

"Is that Hiyoko pudding, I see?" The old man gasps excitedly, the tone of his voice bringing a smile on Kaede's face. She reaches over to get the box, opening it to reveal different colored pudding in small glass jars, the front of which was branded by an adorable drawing of a little chick. She pulls out a spoon and hands it over to her grandpa.

"I bought your favorite!" She exclaims, grinning widely. "With this, I'm forgiven, right?"

"You cheeky one!" Her grandfather chides, before a chuckle escapes his lips. "Very well, then, I will forgive you just this once!"

Seeing the bright smile on her grandfather's face, Kaede reaches for the matcha flavored pudding and hands it to him with a fond smile on her face. The morning passes by with grandparent and grandchild filling the four walls of the hospital room with laughter and lively chatter.

* * *

Visiting his mother in the hospital after a few years took a lot of courage for Todoroki at first.

Both were surprised at Todoroki's actions. He had half-expected her to turn him away, the past memories of his mother finding his left side unsightly coming back to his mind. Yet his mother simply welcomed him with a fond smile, a sign of her acceptance of Todoroki's existence.

After their first reunion, Todoroki had made sure to visit her every time he has a day-off. They decided to build their bond as parent and child back from scratch, taking baby steps along the way. His mother seemed to be fine with it euther, and with every visit from her son, she looked a bit better than the last.

Today was one of those days.

"Mom."

Todoroki announces his presence inside his mom's private room in his usual stoic tone, making his mother look up from folding origami. Upon seeing his face, her lips break out into a gentle smile.

"Hello, Shouto." She greets, her voice calm and soothing. She places her half-finished paper crane atop her table before beckoning her child to come closer. "Come, have a seat."

He takes careful strides, settling the plastic bag full of mandarins on the basket resting atop of the bedside table before finally settling down in the chair in front of his mother.

"How are you feeling?" He asks his mother, watching her expression carefully. His mom blinks momentarily at his sudden question before chuckling lowly, making her son raise an eyebrow in confusion at his mom's behaviour.

"I am always fine, getting better actually so don't worry about me." She replies before folding her hands across her lap daintily. "How about you? How was your day? Was school okay?"

"It was...fine." Todoroki replies. "I'm taking supplementary lessons for the hero provisional license exam starting tomorrow with a classmate."

"Supplementary classes?" His mom asks, bewilderment sliding into her features at his sudden announcement. "Why? What for?"

"I didn't make it on the first try." Warmth creeps up his neck at his mother's query, a wave of humiliation spreading through Todoroki's entire being as he uttered those words. His father, Endeavor, was very much disappointed with the turn-out, taunting him that at this rate he will not be able to rise to the top if he keeps this up.

A sudden warmth atop of his hand however, snaps him back to reality, only to be met with an understanding smile on his mother's face.

"There's nothing wrong with that. Not everybody passes on their first try, after all." She replies. "Shouto, just do things at your own pace. I definitely know you'll be able to catch up with others soon."

"Besides..." She gives his hand a reassuring squeeze before continuing. "...you're already a splendid hero with the way you're doing your best now."

His mother's words and her smile sends a warmth inside his body, a warmth he hasn't felt in ages. With his father, it was a different kind-it was blazing heat, flames of rebellion that cracked in defiance to Endeavour's expectations. With his mother it was a gentle fire, the kind that was soothing and pleasant to the touch, embers that thaw through a body after being exposed to the cold for so long.

For the first time in a very long while, a genuine smile tugs at the corner of Todoroki's lips.

"Thank you, Mom."

* * *

"Bye, grandpa. I'll come back on my next day-off!"

Kaede cheerfully quips a farewell from outside of the doorframe, earning her a wave of dismissal from the older man.

"Go on, off you go." The older man responds, taking off his spectacles and resting them next to his book on the table. "Take care on the way back, Kaede. There's an awfully frightening bunch of villains on the loose, says the news."

"I will~" Kaede replies, stepping out the door with her backpack securely on her shoulders, hands gently sliding the door closed. Sighing in relief, she heads down to the alley, footsteps casual in their pace.

"Grandpa worries an awful lot, geez." She mumbles to herself, "The pro-heroes are also on high-alert, too, you know."

Kaede makes her way down to the first floor using the stairs, fingers casually checking through her phone for alerts from her boss at her part time job. Seeing none, she tucks the gadget back into the safety of her pants.

She arrives on the last floor, before her dry throat demanded her attention. A quick look over the area led her gaze wander to a vending machine selling cold drinks further ahead so she makes her way to it, craving for a delicious bottle of lemon juice.

As Kaede makes her way to the vending machines, the elevator doors on this floor opened, startling her slightly. A group of five people exited the doors-two doctors in lab gowns, an elderly lady in a wheelchair accompanied by a sullen-faced middle-aged woman, and a boy with strange mismatched hair.

 _Wait_ , Kaede pauses in her tracks, eyes staring at the teenage boy. _Doesn't he look kind of familiar..?_

As if sensing her gaze on him, the boy turns his head, catching her gaze. Now under the bright lights of the hospital, Kaede could notice that like his hair, his eyes too were of different colors-one black, one green. They widened a fraction in recognition of her appearance and without warning, she walks towards him with careful steps. Once face to face, Kaede levels her gaze with his, and smiles.

"Hi," She begins. "We finally meet again."

* * *

Todoroki takes one look at the sizzling monjayaki cooking on the griller, and another look back at the smiling red-haired woman seated across him.

"Uhm," He remarks, "You really don't need to treat me for lunch, Miss."

"I insist." The woman replies, hands reaching out for the ladle in order to flip the other side of the cooking monja. "You helped out while I was hopelessly drunk the other day; I definitely should repay you."

She cuts a portion of the monjayaki she was cooking before scraping it inside a bowl, extending it to Todoroki's face. "Here, eat. Don't hold back."

Sighing in resignation, the half-and-half accepts the bowl with both hands before bowing slightly, mumbling a soft "Itadakimasu" as he takes a bite. The batter was a little burnt, but he could still savor the pork and vegetables mixed in.

"I never expected we would bump into each other at the hospital." The woman remarks, scraping some of the cooked pancake into her own bowl, about to grab her own chopsticks when she suddenly seemed to remember something important. "I just realized, we haven't exchanged names yet!"

"I'm Nagare Kaede." Todoroki blinks in surprise as she suddenly thrusts her right hand in his direction, posed for a handshake. She smiles a bit. "You are?"

He hesitates a moment, placing his bowl and chopsticks down on the table before reaching out and clasping his hand with her. "Todoroki...Shouto."

"Todoroki-kun, huh?" She replies, giving his hand a light shake. "A pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure to meet you, too..." Todoroki calmly replies, pausing a while before addressing her name. "Nagare-san."

"Now that we're done with the formalities," She withdraws her hand from his grip, and grabbing her own bowl and chopsticks. "Let's eat, shall we?"

* * *

Unsurprisingly, her savior was the quiet sort. She could tell, from the way Todoroki helped her back at the konbini the other day. Not that Kaede really minded much. She preferred these types over the gaudy ones who would endlessly pester her with useless small talk.

The two of them ate in comfortable silence inside the bustling monjayaki shop, and the occasional sizzle of the grill as she poured some more batter was the only sound in their spot. Testing the waters, Kaede rests her chopsticks on top of her bowl, eyes glancing to the boy before she asks.

"So what brings you to the hospital today?"

The slight tension in Todoroki's shoulder indicated his surprise at her sudden question, making Kaede inwardly curse herself.

She clears her throat instead, trying again. "Ah, is it a difficult question to answer?"

"No, not at all." Todoroki replies, his voice calm as he locks gazes with her from across the table. "I was...visiting my mother."

"Ah, so you were visiting a relative, too." Kaede murmurs, picking up her cup of tea before settling the cup down and sending him a calm smile back. "We're the same then, though I'm visiting my grandfather."

"I...see." The male trails off uneasily, a confused mien settling on his expression as he seemed to ponder on how to respond back to her. Kaede chuckles lowly, making Todoroki glance up to her in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I'm boring you with all these small talk, arent't I?" Kaede remarks, glancing occasionally at the cup of green tea on the table, her reflection staring back at her from the drink's surface.

"No, not particularly." The boy replies, uncertain. "It's just that... I really don't go out and talk to people outside of my class like this."

"Oh, that's perfectly understandable. Truth is, I'm sort of the same too." Kaede replies, lifting her gaze from the tea cup and offering Todoroki with a sheepish smile before clearing her throat. "Are you still in high school, by the way, Todoroki-kun?"

"Ah, yes I am..." He replies. "I go to UA."

"UA? The school for heroes?" Surprise settles on Kaede's features at his revelation. "That's...amazing."

Todoroki blinks, before looking down on his own bowl. "I guess so..."

"No, I mean it. You are on another level than me, then." Kaede retorts back, "I was born Quirkless, and even if I had been born with a Quirk, the hero life isn't made for me."

"You are Quirkless?" The boy asks in response, looking up back at her in surprise of Kaede's statement. "You didn't seem to be the type..."

"Is that so?" Kaede lets out a giggle at his bewildered expression. "I am flattered about that but my alcohol tolerance is the only thing I can consider closest to a Quirk if I had one."

The boy tilts his head, confused at her statement and then suddenly an embarrassed feeling flares up in Kaede's well-being. Clearing her throat, she begins to wave her hand dismissively.

"Forget I said something! Hahahaha…!" She attempts to diffuse the situation, her laugh trailing at the end. Todoroki's face remains impassive through her actions and Kaede inwardly slaps herself.

 _God damn it, why are you so awkward self? AND WHAT WAS WITH THAT LAME JOKE? WHAT ALCOHOL TOLERANCE? WHAT QUIRK? NAGARE KAEDE OH MY GOD YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT-_

"Uh, Nagare-san…?"

"Yes!"

Kaede's voice rises a pitch higher when Todoroki calls her name out of nowhere while she was in the midst of berating herself. The half-and-half simply points to her vibrating phone atop the table.

"Your phone's vibrating for quite some time. I thought I should let you know." The boy answers curtly. Kaede's eyebrows rise in query and as her eyes shifted to the caller ID, her right hand immediately flies towards the smartphone device and swiping it to answer the call.

"Hi, Shohei-san, it's Kae—"

'"YOU FINALLY PICKED UP KAEDE!"

A deep male voice echoes from the end of the line, making Kaede hold the phone away from her ear, the volume of the speaker from the other end blaring across her ears. Todoroki's face registers surprise for a minute, his eyes trained on the older woman in front of him.

At his inquiring gaze, Kaede smiles apologetically at Todoroki, bowing a bit to excuse herself as she exits the dining area and walking towards the more silent corners of the shop before returning her attention back to the call.

"I deeply apologize, Shohei-san, my phone was on vibrate." Kaede whispers into the receiver as she settles into the washing area of the shop. "Is there something wrong?"

"Aiyah, you brat. Didn't I tell you to keep your phones on 'general' mode all the time?" The man, Shohei, grunts from the other end of the line. An irritated feeling began to surge inside Kaede at his tone of voice but she kept her lips pursed and let Shohei drone further from the other side of the phone.

"Back to the topic at hand, do you have a back-up copy of the final lay-out and ad-copy for Shimamura Publishing?" Shohei inquires and at this Kaede raises an eyebrow.

"Didn't we print out the final copies of the posters the day before?" Kaede answers, hurriedly pulling out a small notebook tucked into the pocket of her pants. "I thought everything was good to go. What's up?"

"That idiot Rui messed up a character on the ad-copy before printing. If we don't edit now, the typo is a glaring mistake on the posters." Shohei grumbles. "We have to reprint everything."

"Ugh, that dunce!" Kaede groaned in frustration, her fingers tangling up to her hair as she thinks of all the expenses they'll incur for reprinting another set of copies. "When I get there, I'll choke him to death!"

"Sorry to bother you when you're on your day-off, Kae-chan." Shohei's voice tones down a bit, concern and apology lacing into his tone. "I know you're supposed to be looking after your grandpa, but…"

"Nah, it's no biggie, Shohei-san." Kaede reassures the older man with a laugh. "The file's still in my laptop back at the dorms though. I have to go back to get it so I'll be able to go back to the studio around…"

The redhead roams her eyes around the monjayaki shop before her gaze catches wind of the time on the wall clock near the counter. A quarter to 2 in the afternoon.

"…20 minutes, I guess?" Kaede finishes.

Hachikawa Shohei, her boss and the creative director of Nagi Creatives, the small but successful design studio where Kaede was part-timing as a lay-out artist, clicked his tongue and exhaled a sigh of frustration before answering.

"Make it 15. We have to hustle, deadline's the day after tomorrow."

"Roger that, Shohei-san."

With a beep, Kaede ends the call, sighing in resignation as she pockets her phone back into her pants pocket and weaving her way back to her seat with Todoroki. As soon as she seats back, she flashes him a small smile.

"I'm sorry but I have to go." Kaede remarks. "Something went wrong at my part-time job and they need my help urgently."

"I see. It can't be helped then." The boy replies and offers her a bow. "Thank you for treating me to a meal, Nagare-san."

At Todoroki's bow, Kaede barks a small laugh before proceeding to pack her things inside her bag.

"Ah, it's no problem, no problem!" Kaede reassures, zipping the pockets and shouldering the denim bag over her right shoulder. "I'm really sorry for this, though. I'm in a rush."

Fumbling through the front pockets of her bag, Kaede draws out a peach business card and hands it over to the boy.

"If there's anything else, then feel free to contact me here." Kaede says, a gentle smile on her features. "It was nice meeting you, Todoroki-kun."

Todoroki grasps her business card and nods. "Likewise, Nagare-san."

Kaede offers him another smile before turning to the time on the wall and grimacing. "Yikes, I really need to go."

She stumbles out of the dining booth then offers the younger boy a bow before her footsteps retreat out of the shop.

At the sight of her retreating figure, Todoroki returns his gaze to the business card she handed him. On it was printed: Nagare Kaede, Lay-out Artist, Nagi Creatives. A sketch of a camera and a desktop computer rested next to her contact information.

 _Ah._ A sudden realization comes over him as soon as he finished skimming through the contents. Drawing into his pocket, he draws out another peach-colored business card, although this one's crumpled that the recent one he received.

 _She already gave me two._ He mulls over in his head as he held her two business cards in both of his hands. _What should I do?_

Todoroki's gaze rests on Kaede's card for a while longer, before he finally sighs and takes his phone out. Tapping a few times on the screen, he fiddles with the controls for a few minutes and then stops. As the tiny chime pinged off, a small smile rests on his face as he stares at the screen.

 _Nagare Kaede_. _xxxx-xxxx_

 _Saved as new contact._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** My apologies for the utterly late update. The semester just finished so I have time to write now! I hope you enjoy! As always, reviews are appreciated!


	3. Small World

Standing in the middle of nowhere under the glaring heat of the noon-time sun was a situation Kaede would rather not find herself in if you ask her.

Yet here she was, standing awkwardly to the left side of a filming set in a far-flung forest area just outside of the metropolis, holding a basket filled to the brim with faux sakura petals in her right hand and a paper fan she had grabbed from a supermarket clerk handing them out for free while Kaede was en route to the shooting location for today.

The redhead exhales a staggering breath, feeling all damp and sweaty in her black polo shirt and jeans. Nagi Creatives, the advertising and events agency where she was currently employed in as a part-timer, took up a wedding pre-nuptial shoot for a pro-hero couple set to marry in the summer.

Kaede snorts under her breath as her gaze moves to the set, watching in amusement as the groom-to-be, an outlandish gentleman with tall stature and startling neon green hair, was trying his best to placate his bride, a screeching, orange-haired woman dolled up in a white summer dress. The woman was pointing fingers to the filming staff inside the set. The director for the shoot, Hachikawa Shohei, was almost close to losing his cool, looking all-smiley but definitely seething with rage inside.

 _"Whoa, never thought I'd see someone go Bridezilla before my very eyes."_

Kaede's shoulders tensed at the sound of a male voice beside her ears, before she eventually sighs and turns to face a dark-haired boy dressed in the same outfit she was in.

"God damn it, Rui. Can you please not just magically appear out of nowhere?" Kaede huffs, sending a glare at the smug-faced production assistant. "You are going to give me a heart attack someday. Or maybe even today, what with this cursed heat."

"It's my Quirk, Kae-chan~" Rui retorts smoothly, straightening his back and smirking at the girl in front of him. "Teleportation has its perks, y'know."

"It's useful alright," Kaede smiles sourly at him before continuing. "…for running errands, that is."

"Man, shut it. Sho-san already gave me hell for messing up that print job two days ago." Rui grumbles, bravado disappearing with Kaede's statement. "For someone Quirkless, you sure do know where to strike people where it hurts."

"I'm just kidding, Rui. Geez." Kaede placates, playfully hitting his shoulder with the paper fan she was holding. "I am getting really prickly under this heat."

The two shifted their gaze to the set. This time, the bride was making wide motions in the air, emphasizing the vision and concept she wanted for this pre-nup video. Hachikawa was trying to make his point across, and Kaede watches as one of the camera crew makes his way out of the set sneakily, heading to the food truck for a glass of water.

"That looks pretty intense." Rui comments, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he whistles under his breath. "How long have they been at it?"

"Since 30 minutes ago, I guess?" Kaede answers, her gaze drifting to the pro-hero couple and her lips curl up into a grin at the sight of the groom kneeling to the ground trying to appease his bride. "Still though, those two are a sight to behold. I mean look at their hair colors. What were their hero names, again?"

"I believe they're called Tutti Frutti." Rui replies, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. At the sound of the name, Kaede cracks up in laughter.

"A fitting name!" She gasps in between her giggles. "They remind me of a candy flavour!"

Rui grins uneasily, at a loss on how to react at his co-worker's sudden laughing fit. He was about to open his mouth to retort when static began to buzz from the communication set he wore.

"Kaede, Rui. Get your asses over here now!" Hachikawa's voice blares from the earpiece, making Kaede and Rui flinch from the loud volume of his voice. "We're resuming shooting in a minute!"

"Yes! Understood!" Kaede and Rui simultaneously replied. Clutching the basket handle tight, Kaede tucks the paper fan under her armpit and marches to the tent across the field. Rui was about to follow behind Kaede's steps but Hachikawa's voice blared once more from the comm set.

"While you're at it, Rui get my coffee." Hachikawa orders, making the production assistant groan in frustration.

"Sho-san! You couldn't have told me earlier?" Rui grumbles into his mic, making Kaede look at him in pity.

"Are you complaining?" Hachikawa drones, his tone dangerous and Rui gulps before hastily echoing a "I'll be at it, stat!" and running towards the coffee shop just a few blocks round the corner. At the sight of her retreating colleague's back, Kaede sighs before connecting to the radio channel and speaking into the mic.

"Shohei-san, aren't you overdoing it a bit?" She placates, "Rui's been properly reflecting on his mistakes."

A moment of silence, then a click of a tongue.

"Alright, I'll let him off." Hachikawa mutters drily, bringing a small smile on Kaede's face as her boss' voice echoes from the other end of the line. "But not until he gets my coffee brewed right."

As the man disconnects from the line, a small laugh escapes from Kaede's lips. _Say what he want, but all in all, our boss is a softie._

"Well, then!" Stretching her arms to the sky, she flexes her muscles before picking up the basket of false petals and trotting towards the direction of the filming set. "Let's get back to work!"

* * *

Make-up classes for the hero provisional license course was not a walk in the park as Todoroki expected it to be.

His joints and muscles ached as he walked on the way back to the UA Dorms after a particularly draining physical training session with Gang Orca. The numerous bandages on his arms and the bruises he incurred were only a first testament of what was yet to come.

The sun was beginning to set, dyeing the sky with a warm orange color as Todoroki traversed the streets heading to his train station. Summer had already arrived, but while the mornings were unbearably insufferable with the heat, the late afternoons and nights were a bit cooler.

As he turns right, he stumbles on a playground area in one of the suburbs. The area was devoid of children and he finds himself gazing at the slide and swings. A pang of nostalgia hits him in the chest as a memory resurfaces to his mind: his mother gently pushing him on the swings during one of the rarer times they were able to escape from his father's ruthless trainings.

Sighing, he peels his gaze away from the playground, continuing on his way back to the dorms, but before he could take a step forward, a familiar voice calls out to him from behind his back.

" _Todoroki-kun?"_

The half-and-half hastily turns back, guard up at the sound of someone calling out his name. Once he fully turns, he finds himself facing the familiar figure of a redhead.

"Nagare-san." He acknowledges the woman, who in turn flashes him a polite smile. Today, she was dressing in an all-black get-up: a black polo shirt, jeans and ballerina flats. Her hair was pushed back in a messy up-do, and she didn't bother with keeping the stray hands at bay. She strides over him in an easy gait, stopping short within two meters from him.

"I thought I recognized that two-toned hair from far away." She remarks. "So it was you after all."

The boy gives the briefest of nods to confirm Kaede's statement. "What brings you here Kaede-san?"

"Ah, I was at a shoot earlier." The older woman explains, crossing her arms across her chest. "Pre-nuptial wedding video shoot for a pro-hero couple."

"Oh. I see." Todoroki replies, actually at a loss on what to say next. This was their first meeting in a week after she had treated him to monjayaki 7 days ago. _Weird, we always keep meeting._

"How about you?" Kaede prompts, breaking the ice and initiating the conversation once she noticed the boy go silent. "Where have you been? Field work?"

"Something like that." He replies. "I just actually came from a make-up class for the provisional hero license test."

When the words left his mouth, Todoroki somehow regretted it a bit once he saw the older woman's eyes widen as she finally takes notice of the numerous bandages encasing his body. "Ah, but it's nothing to be concerned about—"

" _Let me see."_

Before he could reassure her, Kaede had already stepped closer to him, hands gently cupping his face as her eyes scrutinized the injuries that littered his face. Because it all happened so suddenly, he stilled, his eyes wide and his breath hitches in his throat. As her fingers sweeped over the expanse of his face, his mind went blank.

It took him a few seconds to pass before he was able to say something.

"Nagare-san?" He starts tentatively. "…you're too close."

* * *

At the boy's statement, Kaede blinks her eyes, before she realized what she was doing. Abashed, she draws her hands away from the boy's face, her face burning in shame for shamelessly touching a person's face without permission.

"Oh my god, I am so, so sorry!" She blurts out, stepping five steps backward to distance herself away from Todoroki. In her nervousness, she began to wave her hands around as she begins to blabber away. "I just went ahead and laid my hands all over you!"

"I-it's fine, Nagare-san." The boy mutters after a while, a confused mien settling on his face as he returns his gaze to her. "I…was surprised."

"So sorry for that, Todoroki-kun!" She blabbers. "Truth is, I have two younger brothers who enjoy rough-housing all the time so out of habit I just…! Ah that's right, as a token of apology!"

Unable to find any appropriate words to say, she began tossing items inside her bag, earning the curious gaze of the boy. She shuffles inside the pockets before she brings out a packet of band-aids. The packaging was in the bright color scheme of red, blue and yellow, accompanied with a little caricature of All Might on each of them. She extends the pack to the boy.

"Please take it! It's not much but it can help!" Kaede asserts. The boy blanks out for a moment, but she felt the brush of his fingers on her palms as he takes the pack. Once confirming that the package was in the boy's hands, Kaede bows once more.

"I'm really sorry for invading your personal space." She apologizes once more, but before the boy could offer her a reply, her phone inside her pocket blares loudly, startling the quiet of the afternoon. With shaky hands, she brings out the gadget out of her pocket.

As Hachikawa's caller ID flashed on the screen, she thanked the all the gods in the heavens for the interruption.

"I have to get back to work, Todoroki-kun!" She exclaims, her pitch higher than usual as she hastily flashes him a shaky smile. "Duty calls~"

The boy merely nods, and Kaede, all just wanting to bury herself in the ground for being so impolite, returns the gesture with a bow, turning around rather stiffly, before yelling a stiff "Take care of yourself!" over her shoulders and finally leaving the scene.

* * *

Once her figure gets out of his sight, Todoroki merely blinks wondering what the hell just happened. His gaze returns to the pack of All Might band-aids she had wrestled in his palms before she speedily walked away.

The feeling of her touch lingers on his skin, and in that brief moment he was surprised that he let her touch him so easily. It was a miracle he kept his Quirk under control even after that.

 _But…_ He clutches the packet of band-aids close to his chest as he realizes something.

…. _her touch was gentle and warm._

* * *

Once she went back to the safety of her dorm room, Kaede plopped herself down on the mattress of her bed and began beating herself up mentally.

 _Shame on me! What am I doing to a high school boy? Get a grip, girl!_

"Ughhhh this is the worst!" She groans into her pillow, burying her face into the softness as she releases a muffled scream. Thank God her roommate went back to her hometown or else she would never hear the end of it. Rio would definitely accuse her of "corrupting minors".

"Gosh, I need a shower to clear my head up." Kaede mutters, before she picks herself up from her bed, slipping on her frog slippers and walking to her desk, grabbing the bath towel she hung on the back of her chair.

As she begins to sling the fabric over her neck, the phone on her desk pinged for a message alert. Raising an eyebrow, she picks the gadget up and swipes the screen, confusion settling on her features at the sight of an unknown number.

She taps on it anyway, and as her eyes skimmed over the contents of the message, a giddy smile makes way on her face as she realized who it was from.

.

.

.

.

" _Thank you for the bandages. I hope you went back home safely."_

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_ To be honest, I don't know where I'm exactly going with this fanfic anymore? /gets shot


	4. Festival

Just as the clock chimed for 5:00 PM, Kaede finished encoding the last digits for the budget report of Nagi Creatives.

Lifting her hands from the keyboard, her hands automatically reach for the mug of warm tea resting near her mouse pad, inhaling the calming scent of chamomile before taking a scalding sip from the cup.

" _Kae-chan!"_

The redhead jerks in surprise, almost dropping the mug to the floor and hissing when a few drops of the hot tea scalds her skin. Turning around, she fixes an irritated glare to Rui, the dark-haired boy flashing her a cheeky grin as he had teleported behind her seat.

Sighing, Kaede places the mug back on top of her table, angling the swivel chair so she could face Rui. Crossing her arms over her chest, she scowls at the boy.

"God damn it, Rui! I told you to stop doing that!" She hisses, irritation flaring at the tone of her voice. A tic on her jaw appeared when Rui only replies with a chuckle.

"Come on, it's your fault for being so unguarded, Kae-chan~" He replies, a teasing lilt to his tone as he edges closer and pinches her playfully on the nose. "You get surprised so easily that's why it's so fun teasing you."

Kaede immediately swats his hand away and turns the swivel chair back to face her desk. "Oh yeah, sure. Let's all pick on the Quirkless one here, shall we?" She spats out sarcastically as she taps on her mouse, quickly saving the Excel spreadsheet with the budget report on and closing the document tabs.

Rui sighs, and walks over to her, hovering behind her seat for a moment, before his hands turned Kaede's seat towards to face him. At this, Kaede lets out a squeak, a ready tirade on her lips but Rui beats her to it by placing a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Have dinner with me." He replies, his voice this time gentle and devoid of all nuances of teasing. Kaede blinks stupidly at his suggestion, coercing a snort from Rui who immediately pulls his finger away from her mouth.

"Have dinner with me, Kae-chan." He replies, stepping back so the redheaded girl could have her space. "Consider this as a way of making up to you after all those times that I've teased you."

"Oh, uhm." Suddenly, Kaede was devoid of all ability to speak as she tries to process the information Rui immediately extended. While she was looking stupid in trying to formulate an appropriate response, Rui merely observes, his lips quirking into a small smile at her expression.

 _Fact = the eminent pretty boy of the office just asked me out on a dinner date. What to do?_

"That's very nice of you to offer, Rui, but…" Kaede replies after a while, prompting Rui to raise an eyebrow at her hesitation.

"But what, Kae-chan?" He asks, and Kaede responds with turning her chair back to her computer, pushing it back and grabbing her bag, to which she ultimately stuffs with her papers and supplies.

"I…have things to do." She finishes, zipping her backpack with finality and slinging it over her shoulders, stepping away from her desk as she stands across the dark-haired boy. An apologetic smile graces her features. "Maybe some other time, yeah?"

A wave of disappointment washes over Rui's face at her rejection, but as quickly as it appeared, it dissipated just as quick.

"Ah, well that's too bad then." He replies, turning his back away and pulling out a smartphone from his pocket, fingers tapping out a number on screen as he whistles. "Guess I'll ask Risa-chan from the PR agency then."

"See you tomorrow, then, Kae-chan." He spares one last look over his shoulders, a wistful smile on his features as he addresses Kaede. Kaede forces a smile on her face as she raises her hand for a wave.

"Sure. Have fun!"

Once Rui's figure disappears behind the entrance of her department, Kaede heaves a sigh of relief. Picking up on people's attitudes was one beneficial skill she had picked up over the course of studying in a major that dealt with people interaction, and Kaede had sensed Rui's interest in her ever since she came to Nagi Creatives for her part-time.

She had never settled down in a relationship with anyone over the course of her life. Sure, she had been on blind dates and _goukons_ at the insistence of her friends in an attempt to help her score a man, but most of them ended with Kaede's rejection.

 _I don't have time to be in a relationship with anyone just yet._ She mulls in her head as she fixes her chair back to her table, shutting down the monitor and leaving her desk to exit the room. Sighing, she punches in the time on her employee card, before switching off the air conditioning and turning off the lights in the room.

With a satisfied huff, she goes out of the door, locks it, and heads down the hallway towards the exit.

* * *

 _5:30 PM, huh._

Todoroki stares at the time displayed on the wall clock of his room just as he looked up from reading his notes. Exhaling a soft breath, he stands up from his desk and pads over the tatami flooring of his dorm room, deciding to head downstairs for a glass of water.

As he exits his room, he could hear the rowdy conversations of his classmates coming from the common room. Curious, he briskly walks down past the hallway of the boy's wing, noting the absence of the rooms' occupants. He descends the flight of stairs and soon enough, he could see his classmates gathered round the common area, engaged heatedly in discussion with one another. Iida's booming voice was first to reach Todoroki's ears as soon as he steps inside the common room

"Like I said earlier, I oppose to this idea because it's dangerous!" The class representative argues, waving his arms around to further emphasize his point. "We all could be attacked by villains!"

From the corner of his eye, Todoroki spots Midoriya in one corner of the room, a resigned expression on his features as he watches the rest of the class argue. Silently, Todoroki makes his way towards the green-haired boy, who acknowledges him with a soft, "Todoroki-kun, you're here," to which Todoroki replies with a nod.

"What's happening?" The half-and-half queries, gaze redirecting to the center of the argument. Midoriya follows his gaze and laughs awkwardly.

"They're arguing whether or not we could all go out to the nearby summer festival in town." Midoriya replies. Before Todoroki could reply, Ashido had stood up, her mouth curved into a disapproving pout, before she points a finger towards the direction of Iida.

"All we've been doing is training, studying and internship!" The pink-skinned girl protests. "We deserve to have a bit of fun, too!"

"But Iida has a point too," This time, it was Tsuyu who speaks up. "We can't ignore the danger now that the League of Villains are on the move."

"Man, how long do we have to stay cooped up inside the dorms?!" Kaminari argues. "Summer's here and festivals are a staple event, y'know?! Just let us have 30 minutes of fun, come on!"

More arguments spouted from the rest of the class and soon the room was in an uproar. Midoriya looks on cluelessly at the events unfolding.

"Maybe we should put a stop to this, after all?" He suggests to Todoroki. "It'll be disastrous if this continues—"

" **I think its fine."**

A hush falls over the room, all heads turning to the suggestion coming from Todoroki's mouth. Midoriya blinked, surprised at the fact that Todoroki could speak up loudly if he had wanted to. Seeing all eyes pinned on him, the half-and-half shrugs.

"I think we could occasionally use a break, too." He reasons out. "Besides, if it's nearby, I think the teachers would be okay with it, too."

At his argument, the rest of the class beamed, not expecting the least likely person to speak up suggest relaxation time. Iida places a hand under his chin, his glasses catching the glint of the light before he gives a nod.

"Alright. I'll ask for permits from Aizawa-sensei." The class representative finally concedes. "Everyone better prepare for departure in 30 minutes!"

"Roger, class rep!" The class exclaims in cheers and soon enough, everyone was frantically scrambling back to their rooms to change into outdoors clothes. Midoriya looks at Todoroki with a smile.

"Todoroki-kun, you can be full of surprises sometimes, don't you?" He muses and the half-and-half quirks a small smile at his friend's remark.

"Mm." He mutters, placing a hand on the nape of his neck. "Even I surprise myself sometimes."

At this Midoriya chuckles, earning a confused glance from Todoroki, but the green-haired boy dismissed him and instead goes back to his room to prepare.

* * *

" _Tadaima."_

Kaede calls out her routine greeting as soon as she steps back inside her dorm room. Sitting down by the _genkan_ , she was in the process of untying her shoes when footsteps thundered down the hallway.

Looking back, she sees her roommate, Yamazaki Suzume, the brown-haired girl from the Theater department, dressed in a pale pink yukata and her long locks in a neat braid that ended just past her shoulders.

"Oh, thank god, you're back, Kae!" The latter exclaims, her arm automatically reaching out for the redhead's hand, pulling her up. At the sudden movement, Kaede lets out a surprised squeak before steadying herself, but before she could ask what's with the rush, the brunette had dragged her back to their shared room.

"Mind telling me what this fuss is about?" Kaede asks, staring curiously as Suzume begins flinging articles of clothing from her closet, throwing a sky blue yukata and a black obi at Kaede's direction, the latter clumsily catching the pieces of clothing in her arms. "Hey, Suzu!"

"Jack asked me out to go with him to the festival." Suzume barks back, turning back to face Kaede, as if that one statement will explain everything. When the redhead blinks confusedly at her, Suzume sighs.

"You know, that cute guy from the Fashion department?" She waves her arms around to illustrate her point. "The one that we got as an exchange student from England?"

"Oh, that guy!" Kaede finally identifies who Suzume was referring to, the latter sighing frustratedly as she turns to pawing her collection of hair clips. "He finally asked you out?"

"Yes!" Suzume's tone of voice changes from being irate to hopelessly giddy. "And I refuse to look un-cute in front of my crush!"

"Look, I'm happy for you and all, but I don't see why this has something to do with me?" Kaede asks, weighing the two pieces of clothing in her arms. "I mean, it's your first date, you sure want me to intrude—"

"Nonsense, you'll be there for moral support!" Suzume chides, a victorious expression on her face as she finds what she's looking for—a hairpin in the shape of a sunflower bloom—and stalks over to where Kaede was sitting on the bed. "And you look like in dire need of a break! We don't hang out anymore because you are so busy with work!"

"That last part sounded like an excuse, but okay, fine." Kaede replies, deadpan as she rises from the bed, the pieces of clothing in her arms as she heads towards the bathroom to change. "You're lucky I love you, you idiot," She calls out over her shoulder towards her friend who replies with a satisfied tone to her voice.

"I love you too, Kae! You're the best!"

* * *

 _Honestly, I anticipated this, but in truth, this is also irritating._

As she chewed on her grilled squid, Kaede watches in slight contempt at the intertwining arms of the couple in front of her. Suzume and Jack were walking side by side together, chatting animatedly with one another as they made their way past the crowd of people who were starting to gather in the festival stalls.

The guy was dressed into a dark blue men's yukata, his blonde hair styled neatly. He leaned his face closer to Suzume to whisper something in her ears, the girl's eyes widening, and making Kaede surmise that he must've said something funny because the next thing she knew, her friend was giggling. The way they're acting right now completely reeks of a couple smitten with each other that Kaede was sure she saw a bunch of hearts flowing from them.

Completely deciding that Suzume was most likely going to ignore her until the end of this date, the redhead now merely contented herself with surveying the festival stalls. There were some stalls that sold colored festival fans; others sold masks in various designs ranging from the traditional Oriental designs to the more modern masks of the popular ranked pro-heroes; there was a goldfish-scooping stall, a ring-throwing game, a shooting range and a few stalls selling pretty trinkets and cute wind chimes, but Kaede had opted to go on a food trip, automatically lining up and grabbing a stick of grilled squid because it was her favourite food.

Suzume and Jack had completely disappeared from her sight by now, so Kaede quickly draws her phone out of the bag she was carrying and quickly types in a message to Suzume, informing her friend that she was going to have some fun on her own because she doesn't want to disturb her moment together with her crush. As soon as that was done, she places her phone back into the confines of her bag, her eyes darting towards the different food stalls to decide on what to eat next.

There was a shaved ice stand and a booth selling candied apples, but she was not in the mood to eat something sweet. The mouth-watering scent of _yakisoba_ noodles and _takoyaki_ tempted her but she wanted to eat something light. Her eyes immediately lock on a _soba_ stand, the one that included a dipping sauce, and she decides to walk towards the stand to buy.

The strap of her _geta_ sandals dug into the skin of her toes, and she hisses at the sudden pain, inwardly cursing herself for being caught up in Suzume's clothing preferences. The _yukata_ was getting unbearably hot and she found herself wishing she brought along her trusty pair of black flats. Sighing, she trudged on, falling in line to the right side of the _soba_ stall.

The cook was bright-faced, cheerful guy with four arms, to which he manned both sides of the line with ease as he busied himself with preparing the sauce and noodles. Kaede watches in interest with how he prepared things, wishing that she brought her camera with her now in order to film this.

The cook had just finished serving the person in front of her so Kaede moves up in line. The smile the cook directs towards her was impossible to not be returned, so she offers him a small smile of her own.

"And what would you be having?"

" _Zaru soba,_ please."

Kaede blinks in surprise at the other person on the other line echoing the same order as she was. Curious, she turns to face whoever it was, only for a different kind of surprise register on her face as the other person turned their way towards her.

Half-and-half hair and heterochromatic eyes mirrored her exact expression, and Kaede would never forget whose features those belonged to.

* * *

 _This is awkward._

Kaede sneaks a glance at the boy sitting beside her as he quietly slurps the remainder of his _soba._ Todoroki has not said anything for a while now, save for the moment he had invited her to take a seat in the benches not far from the crowds and overlooking the river below the festival site. Sighing, Kaede returns her gaze to her own noodles, picking the chopsticks and fiddles with the noodles, swirling them inside the dipping sauce inside the separate cup.

"Did you come here for the festival too, Nagare-san?"

She almost drops the food she was holding when she hears the boy speak first. Exhaling a shaky breath, she places the food container down on the side of her bench before fixing a small smile towards Todoroki.

"Yep. I came here with my friends…" Kaede trails off at the end, now remembering that Suzume had ditched her for her date. "…but we kind of got separated because we had different things to do."

"Did you come here with someone, Todoroki-kun?"

She directs the question back at him, and the boy responds with a nod before continuing. "Yes. I was with my classmates, but we all got separated, too."

"Is that so?" Kaede laughs, prompting the boy to turn towards her direction. At his confused gaze, she grins. "We're in the same boat, then."

The half-and-half nods as a reply to her question before his gaze drifts back to the line-up of stalls. Families come and go, and as his gaze finds a mother and child holding hands together, his heart twinges a little.

" _Do you want to go sight-see?"_

Kaede's question shocks him out of his reverie, and as he tilts his face to return back to the older woman, she was facing him with a gentle smile on her features. His eyes follow her movements as she moves to tuck a stray strand of her red hair behind her ears.

"We came all the way here, so it'll be a waste if we don't explore all the stalls." She suggests, but immediately blinks in surprise at her own suggestion. Kaede immediately raises her hands and starts waving them around. "I mean, if that's totally okay with you!"

"Sure."

At his reply, Kaede whips her face to stare directly at Todoroki's face. The sight of the small smile etched on the corner of his lips made her heartbeat go into over drive. The male stands up, holds out an arm and tilts his head.

"Let's go?"

The redhead swallows the lump of nervousness down her throat and with trembling fingers, she takes his hand and follows him into the crowd of people.

* * *

Author's note: Apologies for the late update! University is killing me and I wrote this chapter between breaks while I was writing my thesis sksksks. I'm running low on sleep and food and free time siiiigghhhhh.


	5. Fireworks

This was not the first time he held a girl's hand, but when Kaede slipped her fingers through his own hands, Todoroki immediately notes the softness of her palms. Once she stood up however, she had let go of his hand, and he had let her lead the way towards the line-up of stalls.

Out of the corner of his eye, Todoroki quietly observes her figure. Kaede was shorter than he was, her height just barely passing by his shoulders. The pale blue yukata she wore complemented her slightly tanned skin and now that she had pinned her bangs back with a sunflower pin, he could catch a glimpse of the mole just above the crook of her right eyebrow and the hazel brown of her eyes.

The woman suddenly stops in front of the store, making the half-and-half pause in his steps, his gaze drifting to where Kaede was staring at. She was standing in front of a stall selling wind chimes, her fingers reaching out to inspect the glass ornament. She had picked out the one with a pattern of swimming koi fish in a pond, her fingers delicately tracing the intricate design.

"Do you like it, Miss?"

The elderly shopkeeper suddenly pops out from underneath the stall, surprising both Kaede and Todoroki, though the latter's surprise was not evident except for the slight widening of his eyes. Kaede was rattled slightly, and he could see from the way she was composing herself by taking in deep breaths to stabilize herself.

"Aye, you have a good eye, Miss." The shopkeeper continues, ignoring the surprise he had instilled into the two young ones, instead flashing a sales smile at Todoroki while he reaches out for the one chime Nagare was inspecting so intently. "Maybe your boyfriend could buy it for you?"

"He's not—We're not-!"

Kaede's sputters finally broke the air before Todoroki could react. His gaze drifts to the reddening face of the woman, her cheeks almost the same color as her hair as she waves her hands and shakes her head rapidly to deny the allegation.

Noting that the poor girl was in danger to spontaneously combust, the elderly shopkeeper dissipates the tension by laughing heartily.

"Ah, must be nice to be so young, then!" He chortles, flashing a knowing smirk towards Todoroki's direction. "You should make your move soon, young man! Beauties like this one don't come pretty often, eh?"

"Uh…" Todoroki finds himself at loss for words with those statements. At that moment he chooses to glance at Kaede who happened to be staring at him. Her cheeks reddened more with their eye contact and before the boy could give a proper reply, she had stormed over to where Todoroki was standing.

"We better get going! _"_ Kaede intones, her tone rising a few tones higher than her normal speaking voice. "Come on, Todoroki-kun. It's getting late!"

Todoroki hears the man mumble something under his breath but he couldn't discern what it was when he felt Kaede take his hand. The colors, sounds, and scents of the festival all came to a blur, and all Todoroki could focus on was the feel of her skin against his and the way her fingers intertwined with his own.

* * *

By the time they were far away from the stall selling the wind chimes, Kaede was out of breath as she and Todoroki had settled near the docks, the place void of people save for a few swan pedal boats docked near the edge of the pier.

The old man's remarks came back to her mind and she could feel her cheeks grow warmer at the memory. Out of the corner of her eye, she observes Todoroki as the boy begins to take his seat on the edge of the pier, his hands clutched around a cup of shaved ice. The half-and-half was calmly eating the refreshment, unbothered with the earlier commotion.

"Are you sure you're okay being with me here?" Kaede asks, getting the attention of the boy. "I know I said this was the best view to see the fireworks, but are you okay with being separated from your classmates for this long, Todoroki-kun?"

"I'll be okay. We'll meet up with each other in the dorms later anyway." Todoroki replies, placing the cup of shaved ice between the two of them as he directs his gaze to the redheaded woman next to him. "I just wanted to spend a bit of time with you, Nagare-san."

At his last statement, Kaede blinks, surprise initially settling into her features before she could feel the heat rising to the tips of her earlobes and her heartbeat thrummed loudly within her chest.

"Wh-what do you mean…." She trails off, unable to finish her statement but the boy merely stared back at her with a questioning look in his eyes.

"We rarely see each other anymore, that's why." Todoroki replies, his gaze directing to the pond before him, his eyes tracing the stillness of the waters. "And I haven't really properly thanked you for the pack of band-aids you gave me last time."

Kaede blinks, her memory jogging back to the time where they met up with each other two weeks ago, with her practically shoving the pack of All Might band-aids at Todoroki when she discovered he was injured. He had thanked her with a text message back then, but it seemed he really wanted to thank her in person, too.

Her flustered state was quickly swapped with that of embarrassment at the realization. Slapping a hand over her face, Kaede sighs, trying to compose her thoughts.

 _Ah, so he's one of those types. Yeah. The natural airheads._ She mulls over in her mind, suddenly feeling foolish of herself for assuming things on her own. _What am I doing, getting this worked up over nothing…?_

"I…that's very polite?" She replies, not knowing how to respond to Todoroki's statement. "But really, I didn't mind at all. You're very welcome."

She flashes him an awkward smile to which the boy returns with the briefest of nods, before picking up the remainder of his shaved ice and eating it with relish. As the boy turns his gaze away from her, Kaede feels her phone buzz inside her drawstring bag.

Thankful for the distraction, she draws the gadget out of the premises of the bag, her eyes narrowing in contempt to see that it was a message from Suzume.

 _Kae! Jack and I went ahead to watch the fireworks. You can go home first if you want to. ;)_

Kaede goes over the message again, before letting out a huff and swiping the option for delete. From the looks of things, Suzume's not going back to the dorm with her either, so she had to make do with commuting all on her own again.

"Todoroki-kun…" The redhead calls out to the boy who immediately turns to face her. Kaede plasters an apologetic smile on her face. "I need to go now. I might miss my bus."

"Is that so?" The boy queries before he picks himself up. "I will walk you to the station, then."

"Ah, there's no need for that." Kaede assuages him. "You wanted to watch the fireworks, right? I'll be good on my own."

Todoroki looked like he was about to say something but nods anyway. Kaede flashes him a small smile before she stands up from where she was seated, tilting her head in a bow to the boy.

"Well then, see you around." She says, but just as before she could take a few steps back to the station, her feet snags on the hem of the _yukata_ , making her teeter over the edge of the bridge and coaxing an undignified shriek from her as she loses her footing.

Just as when the first of the fireworks show began to light up the sky, Nagare Kaede finds herself heading straight for the pond under the pier.

 _Gee, how worse could this night get?_

* * *

"I'm really sorry for this, Todoroki-kun."

Todoroki fixes his gaze to the girl in front of him just as he hauls Kaede back to safety. She was soaked from head-to-toe, the fabric of her _yukata_ clinging to her body like a second skin. Her hair was equally soaked, too, and he had noticed the absence of the sunflower pin that held her bangs back, the strands now messily covering her eyes. Her _geta_ sandals were missing, too, leaving her barefoot and shivering in the cool evening air.

"I'm sorry also Nagare-san. I couldn't catch you on time." He apologizes, bowing to the older woman who immediately placates him.

"Ah, it's not your fault!" She persuades him, laughing awkwardly. "I'm just a very clumsy person, that's why."

Just as he lifts his head, Kaede had flashed him a reassuring smile, but that quickly disappeared when she sneezes, and it was then he noticed her shivering figure. She kept rubbing her hands together, before she shifted to rubbing her arms to provide her body with warmth.

 _At this rate…_ Todoroki mulls over in his hand as he surveys Kaede's figure. _…she'll catch a cold._

Without a second thought, Todoroki strips off his shirt and activates his left side, regulating the flames just enough so they could help warm Kaede up. The bright light catches the gaze of the redhead and before she could react, Todoroki speaks first.

"Please sit next to my left side, Nagare-san." He prompts. "We can't have you catch a cold."

* * *

When he had stripped off his shirt, Kaede had barely time to react. Instead, she could only watch like an idiot as Todoroki discarded the piece of clothing, revealing a toned body built over time because of training. Heat rose up to her cheeks but she barely had time to react to his perfectly ripped body when he had suddenly activated his Quirk.

Red-orange flames burst from his left side, enveloping the dark area they were in with light, but then he had controlled to quell it to soft flames. Kaede blinks at the sudden burst of flame before her mouth curves open in awe. She was no stranger to these kind of Quirks, but it was the first time she saw Todoroki's up close.

Her admiration was cut short when Todoroki urges her to sit next to his left side to warm up. Timidly, she does as he had said, maintaining a safe distance away so her own clothes wouldn't catch on fire. A comfortable silence stretches over the two of them, and Kaede was the first to break it after a few moments.

"You know, thank you for this, really." She murmurs, reaching her palms to hover just above the flames to warm her skin. "You're always helping me out, Todoroki-kun."

Todoroki who had been busy with fiddling his own phone now looks up from the device to spare her a look before nodding slightly. The redhead barely manages a reply before Todoroki turns back to fiddle with his phone. Kaede's face falls slightly at the minor reaction, so she only exhales a sigh before turning her gaze to the skies overhead.

The show had ended while she was thrashing about in the water earlier. While the kaleidoscope of colors and a variety of designs exploded overhead, she had to deal with focusing herself not to drown, while trying to hold on to the pair of _geta_ sandals she wore, having given up later on because it sank to the depths of the pond. When Todoroki hauled her up to safety, she had lost Suzume's pin and her sandals, and now Kaede has to deal with how to go back to the dorms now that she's dripping wet.

 _Man…._ She mulls regretfully in her head as another sneeze escapes from her. … _I should have just stayed home and watched movies-_

"Todoroki-san!"

Kaede's eyes broke out of their trance as a new voice enters the vicinity. From beside her, Todoroki gets up, reaching his hand up to wave at the approaching figure. Upon instinct, Kaede rises shortly after he did, her eyes squinting at the figure coming towards their way.

As the newcomer drew near, Kaede noticed that it was a girl. The latter now stood in front of the two of them and she had dark hair, and was wearing a pair of denim walking shorts with a green rayon short-sleeved blouse.

"You said it was an emergency so I hurried over." The newcomer retorts, her statement directing towards the half-and-half. "Iida-san keeps telling us to gather up but you suddenly texted me—"

The black-haired girl halts in her sentence as her eyes caught sight of Kaede's figure hovering behind Todoroki's. "Who…might this be?"

She queries, now directing her full attention to Kaede. Before Kaede could introduce herself, Todoroki beats her to the chase.

"She's Nagare Kaede-san…" He retorts, gesturing to the petite woman behind him. At that time, Kaede takes the hint and bows slightly, offering the newcomer a small smile to alleviate the tension in the air, a skill she picked up while dealing with clients at her part-time.

"Hi. I'm Todoroki-kun's…" She pauses a bit here, unsure of the nature of the relationship she shared with the boy. Out of the corner of her eye, she feels the boy's gaze shift to her and the silence that falls between the three of them. Kaede decides to settle on a safe term. "…I'm an acquaintance...of sorts."

She hastily adds the last part at the end, but it seemed to be enough for the other girl for she nods, her own lips quirking into a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you, Nagare-san. My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, Todoroki-san's classmate." She briskly introduces herself. "I came here because it was an emergency, so I was thinking you might be in an…accident?"

The girl—Yaoyorozu—finally takes note of Kaede's drenched state, and at that moment, the black-haired girl raises both hands of hers to her mouth to contain a gasp.

"Oh my! We need to change you out of those clothes before you catch a cold!" Yaoyorozu exclaims, her fingers unbuttoning the front buttons of her blouse as she does. By this time, Todoroki had politely averted his gaze and had turned to the opposite direction of the girls and was picking up his shirt to put it back on.

"Yaoyorozu-san?!" Kaede shrieks, panicking at how this girl reacted to her predicament. _I know you're a student of UA but this nobleness is too much!_ "You don't really need to substitute your clothes—"

Before Kaede could react, a soft glow of light emanates from the girl and within seconds, a soft blue sundress in Kaede's size appears in Yaoyorozu's hands. The black-haired girl hands the dress to an awestruck Kaede, before a pair of white sandals appeared next, to which she offered to the redhead with a smile.

"Here you go, Nagare-san." She quips cheerfully. "I'm not sure if this suits to your taste as this was the only design I could come up with on the spot, but…"

"Oh, this is very lovely thank you so much!" Kaede placates her before the girl could further downgrade herself and come up with another dress out of nowhere. "This will do just fine."

The bright smile on the black-haired girl's face brought another one to Kaede's face as well. Todoroki had moved a bit farther away from them this time, and within a few minutes, Yaoyorozu had helped her out of her wet clothes and helped Kaede wear the new dry ones. As she strapped the pair of sandals to her feet, Yaoyorozu had also finished procuring a plastic bag for Kaede's wet clothes.

The fabric of the sundress was soft and supple on her skin, and Kaede gives a little twirl, the beauty of the dress immediately perking up her mood as the clothing swirled in soft waves around her.

"Yaoyorozu-san, thank you so much for this!" Kaede blabbers once again, her hands immediately clasping the black-haired girl's and squeezing it gently in gratitude. "I'll make sure to bring this back to you freshly-laundered and ironed."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." The younger girl assuades her. "You can keep it, Nagare-san. After all, it's an item I can replace easily with my Quirk."

"Well, if you insist…" Kaede shakes Yaoyorozu's hand firmly once again. "But you can contact me anytime you want it back, okay? You can get my details from Todoroki-kun."

The younger girl nods in reply, but before she could say something else, her cellphone buzzes and Yaoyorozu picks it up, her eyes briefly skimming over the content before turning her attention to Todoroki.

"We need to meet up in 20 minutes, Todoroki-san." She calls out to the half-and-half, who now tilted his head towards their direction and walking towards them. "Are you coming?"

As the boy reaches their spot, he stands beside Kaede. The redhead meets his curious gaze for a moment, but the boy turns his attention to his classmate.

"I'll catch up." He replies, his hands now reaching for the insides of his pockets. "I'll walk Nagare-san to her station first."

"O…okay?" Yaoyorozu blinks confusedly at the boy's statement before her gaze drifts to the redhead beside him, and Kaede could clearly see that Yaoyorozu's eyes were in confusion as to her relation with Todoroki. "See you around sometime, Nagare-san."

As the other girl disappeared from sight, Kaede turns to see Todoroki meeting her gaze briefly before turning his attention back to the pathway up the other direction from Yaoyorozu. Kaede clears her throat, her fingers tightening on the plastic bag as she slings the strap of her bag on her right wrist.

"Shall we go?" She prompts, offering a small smile at the half-and-half. "I think we've both had enough excitement for tonight."

* * *

The walk to the bus stop was quiet, but it was comfortable.

Todoroki fell into step with Kaede's pace, and all that he could hear was the buzzing of the cicadas, the distant beat of the festival drums and the sounds of their footwear grazing on the pavement with each step they took.

Under the dimly-lit streets, he could make out the fabric of the sundress Kaede wore, _blue_ like the yukata she wore earlier. As the clothing sways delicately with each step the redhead beside him took, he begins to think that the color suits her well.

"This is my stop."

His train of thought was interrupted when Kaede announces their arrival at the little waiting shed on the corner of the street. She takes a seat on one of the benches, letting out a relieved _oof!_ as soon as her bottom hits the wooden platform.

"Oh, well." Todoroki remarks, his eyes meeting Kaede's slightly before bowing. "I'll be best on my way. Please take care."

He turns around, preparing to trace his steps back to the festival grounds, but he had barely taken two steps when Kaede's voice rings out.

"Todoroki-kun!" She calls after him, making him stop in his tracks and tilting his gaze to meet hers. To his surprise, a flush had settled on her cheeks, and her hands were playing with the ends of her red hair, but her eyes remained resolute as they met with his gaze.

"Keep your next weekend free, please?" She speaks after a pause, her voice wavering slightly. "I'd like to spend some time with you."

Her last sentence makes him cease brain function for a moment, and it must have shown on his face because the girl had suddenly flailed her arms around before clasping her hands together and bowing.

"As thanks! For earlier!" She echoes out, peeking from under her eyes to gauge his reaction. "Please? I've caused you enough trouble and it'll really bother me if I don't—"

"Okay."

He finds himself agreeing before he could stop himself. Before he could take it back though, the bright smile on the redhead's face made him reconsider. The bus arrives on schedule and as Kaede prepares to leave, she enthusiastically waves at him.

"Well I'll see you next week then!" She chirps, before ascending the bus steps. "Take care!"

As the girl finally boards the bus, Todoroki stares at the departing vehicle before his hand moves to his chest. To his utter confusion, his heartbeat thrums a pace faster than normal.

 _What's this?_ He wonders. _What's this weird feeling?_

* * *

Author's note: Wave of acads are incoming in the next two weeks so I'll be putting off updating this fic for a short while. Worry not, for I'll come back when things'll calm down. I hope you understand!

As always, reviews are very lovely. Let me know what you think of this chapter!

Also for everyone's information (since most of you guys are asking): Kaede's 20 years old in here. She's a second year in university. Yes, she's older than Todoroki. I hope I cleared that up!


	6. (Not) A Date pt 1

Before her alarm went off, Kaede was already awake.

She kicks the white comforter off her body as she sits up in the mattress of her bed. Her fingers reach blindly for her alarm clock and she forces her eyes to blink open. Through her bleary vision, she could make out the flashing 6:30 digits on the surface. Yawning, she places the clock back on her nightstand, and forces herself to get out of bed.

The other two beds of her two roommates remained empty that day: Suzume probably crashed over to someone else's place after rehearsals for her finals and Rio wasn't back from her hometown visit after her grandma collapsed. The redhead sighs, scratching her back as she picks up the pink bath towel she slung on the back of her desk chair and makes her way towards the shower.

As she closes the bathroom behind her, Kaede stares at her reflection on the mirror: the bags under her eyes were becoming more prominent after pulling all-nighters for her part-time work and designing her portfolio; her face was paler than its usual color and a few pimples had popped up on her skin.

 _Ugh…_ Kaede groans as she frowns at her reflection. _I look like hell._

Pulling her top off and shimmying her shorts down, she steps into the shower. Twisting the knob open, she winces slightly as hot water streamed down her skin. Hanging her head down, she lets the water drench her body as her thoughts drifted back to the events of two days prior.

" _Keep your next weekend free please? I'd like to spend some time with you!"_

 _She was a nervous wreck when she uttered those words, and she had thanked the heavens that her voice didn't crack while she was talking. Kaede wrung her hands into the fabric of the sundress, her eyes fixated downwards on the pavement as she waited for Todoroki's reaction._

 _Sensing the lack of reaction from the boy, she quickly dissipates the tension rising with a hastily added statement:_

" _As thanks! For earlier!" She echoes out, peeking from under her eyes to gauge his reaction. "Please? I've caused you enough trouble and it'll really bother me if I don't—"_

" _Okay."_

 _That time, she had raised her head fully at Todoroki's agreement. With the half-and-half's agreement, Kaede felt the butterflies on her stomach flutter wildly. Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her chest as a giddy feeling washes over her body._

A small smile creeps on her lips at the memory. Rising her head from the water, Kaede rests her head against the bathroom wall, eyes fixated on the ceiling as the giddy feeling rises within her again, and she shakes her head as she tries to suppress the squeal rising from her throat—

"OW! WHAT THE FU—"

…only to regret the movement as she hits her head, _hard,_ on the built-in shelf holding the rest of the toiletries.

So much for getting ready.

* * *

 _Do I opt for the mature look? Or should it be better if I try to tone it down with something cute?_

Kaede stares hard at the mountain of clothes she unearthed from her closet, the mess of fabric consisting of shirts, blouses, pants, and skirts. Straight from the shower, she had yanked what she could from her closet, standing in front of her bed with her body still wrapped in her bath towel. Her right hand was holding an ice pack on the bump she acquired from hitting her head in the shower earlier and luckily it wasn't that much big of a bump that would be distracting.

"Wait. Why am I this undecided over what to wear?" She mutters under her breath. Usually, when her friends drag her out to parties and _goukons_ , she had no problem selecting clothes, yanking whatever she was comfortable in.

 _This is just a friendly outing with Todoroki-kun….why am I so undecided-wait._

Her eyes widen as another realization comes to mind.

… _MAYBE BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE TWO OF US? THAT I'M BEING MORE CONSIDERATE OF WHAT I WEAR THAN USUAL?_

"Don't be stupid, Kaede! It's not a date!" She chides herself, heat rising to her cheeks at the mere idea of it. "Get a grip, girl—"

" _What's up! I'm back, you hoes!"_

The redhead almost drops the ice pack she's holding to her temple when a loud booming voice echoes from the entryway of the dorms. Thundering footsteps pad over the hallways, and within minutes, a dark-skinned girl with blue-dyed hair styled in a pixie cut waltzes her way inside the room.

"Kae, you bitch!" The newcomer squeals as she tackles the redhead in a bear hug. A muffled squeak coaxes itself out of Kaede's mouth, her hand barely holding her towel together. "I missed you!"

"Rio, hold up! I'm still not dressed, damn it!"

"Whoopsies!" The blue-haired girl blinks in confusion, looks down at Kaede as she was encased in their hug and pulls back, holding both her arms up in surrender. "Sorry!"

Kaede glares at her playfully as Rio gives the redhead her space.

"Geez! At least text me before you decide to go back to the dorm! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Kaede scolds, but Rio merely laughs it off.

"That's the point of the surprise!" Rio chirps, plopping her butt down her own bed and kicking her own legs back and forth. Her grey eyes finally spot the mountain of clothes piling on Kaede's bed. "But what's with the mess? Are you moving out?"

"No, I'm not moving out, but I'm…" Kaede mulls over, her attention shifting back to the clothing as her hands picked out one outfit after the other. She picked up a tunic top, scrunches disapprovingly and tosses it back on the pile of discarded ones. "…I'm having trouble finding what to wear."

"What to wear? That's rare, coming from you." Rio perks up at the question, but suddenly, her confused expression gives way to a teasing grin. Kaede realizes her mistake—Rio may look like an idiot but she catches on quick. "Don't tell me…it's for a date?"

"I-it's not!" Kaede sputters, aghast at how her own voice betrayed her as Rio squeals excitedly from the other side of the room. "It's not a date I mean!"

"You liar~!" Rio gasps, her body lifting itself off her bed as she approaches her friend. "It's totally written all over your face!"

" _It's really not a date, geez!_

* * *

When he spared a glance at his wristwatch, Todoroki Shouto realizes he was ten minutes early for his meet-up with Kaede.

He sighs, running his fingers through his hair as he leans against the back of the many benches situated around the city square. Around him, people went about their usual business: a group of teenagers fooling around and calling each other names while an elderly old man frowned disapprovingly at them; a middle-aged woman wobbling in her steps as she carried several paper bags, a pair of foreigners posing in front of the town mascot to take a selfie with it.

" _Hey, come on, ask him out~"_

" _Ehh~ I don't want to~ Rina, you do it?"_

" _No way, he looks like he's waiting for someone! Maybe a girlfriend!"_

" _God, you're helpless. I'll do it!"_

Several whispers catch his attention and his sense went on hyper-alert. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees three girls, decked in pastel-coloured outfits, whispering to each other. One girl catches his gaze and she giggles, tucking in a strand of her blonde hair behind her ears.

Todoroki patiently averted his gaze away just as the girl who was checking him out approaches him. Looking up, he finds himself face-to-face with a blonde-haired, hazel-eyed petite girl dressed in a floral romper.

"Hi, are you free?' She sweetly asks, batting her eyelashes coquettishly. "My friends and I are wondering if you wanna come to the arcade with us?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Todoroki starts, his face indifferent to the approaches of the girl in front of him. "I'm actually waiting—"

" _Todoroki-kun, I'm sorry I'm late!"_

Both the girls and Todoroki avert their gazes to the new voice in the vicinity. Dressed in a denim jumper over a baby blue sweater, Nagare Kaede all but sprints towards their meeting place. Her usual unruly red locks were brushed up in an elegant ponytail and her brown eyes were framed by her eyeglasses.

The redhead slows down from a sprint to a jog, blinking in confusion at the pretty blonde-haired girl and Todoroki. Kaede's gaze drifts from the blondie then back to Todoroki, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Uh, friends of yours?" Kaede asks, but before Todoroki could reply, the blonde-haired girl clicks her tongue and swivels in her footsteps, facing Kaede and looking at the redhead with a nasty glare.

"And who are you? Can't you see we're talking to him at the moment?" Blondie hisses out in a sarcastic tone. She gives Kaede an once-over, huffing at the older girl's get up as compared to hers. Upon her snooty tone, Kaede's irritation level flares.

"Look, I'm sorry, but he's mine," Kaede spats, ultimately regretting the words as they came out of her mouth. The three girls' eyes widens, and Blondie scoffs at Kaede once more.

"Oh, so you're the girlfriend?" Blondie remarks, "You look pathetic—"

"Yes, she's my girlfriend."

Todoroki intervenes this time, surprising all the girls. Kaede in particular blushes intensely, the red on her cheeks rivalling the red of her hair. Before she could say anything to rebuke the statement, Todoroki stands up from the bench, shuffles to Kaede's side and takes her hand in his without hesitation.

"Uh, Todoroki-kun…?" Kaede squeaks, surprised that she could actually speak when her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest any moment. "Your hand…!"

Todoroki ignores her fervent whispers and instead intertwines their fingers together as he fixes an icy stare at the girls in front of us. "We have somewhere to be, so leave us."

Without a word, he drags Kaede with him, back turning against the girls. Deflated, Blondie sinks to the floor, her mouth opening wide in shock. Her two friends gasp in shock before they assisted the girl on the street.

"See! I told you he has a girlfriend!"

* * *

"Todoroki-kun! Wait!"

Five minutes away from the confrontation with the girls and Todoroki, Kaede could still hear her heartbeat pounding loudly in her chest. Todoroki seems to not have heard her words and has refused to let go of her hand, guiding her through the streets while dodging crowds of people.

"Todoroki-kun!"

Kaede raises her voice louder this time, successfully earning the attention of the half-and-half. Todoroki stops in his steps, glancing over his shoulder to pin his gaze with hers. At the colour of his eyes, Kaede feels her knees go weak.

"Yes, Nagare-san?" Todoroki asks, blinking in confusion at the redhead. Kaede expels a sigh to calm her heart and regain her voice, and gazes at him.

"Y-you can let go of my hand now," Kaede mutters and the guy takes the hint, separating his hand from hers as he steps back. Disappointment flares in his chest at the loss of touch, but he pushes it down as soon as it flares up.

Kaede breathes once more, calming herself before finally fixing Todoroki a level stare.

"Um, thank you, for what you did back there." Kaede remarks, smiling softly as she pushes her hands into the pockets of her jumper. "You really saved me."

"No problem, Nagare-san." Todoroki replies, "I…apologize, if I ever made you feel awkward with the way I took things. Even going as far as to claim as your boyf—"

"Okay, stop, stop!" Kaede halts him before he decides to go on a lengthy tirade. The 'girlfriend' incident still has her shaken to the very corners of her soul. "I-I-I'll make it up to you! I promised that today will be my treat, right?"

Todoroki blinks, before his features relax. The redhead in front of him was flashing him a shy smile and he finds himself nodding to her words. At his gesture of affirmation, Kaede regains back her spirits.

"I'm glad we got that sorted out, then." She remarks, before her gaze notices his outfit and she releases a chuckle. Todoroki blinks, confused at her sudden laughter.

"What's the matter, Nagare-san?" He asks and in response, Kaede points at his outfit: he was wearing the same color shade as her sweater, had denim jeans and white sneakers.

"Our clothes," She begins, smiling widely this time, "…we really matched up today, didn't we?"

* * *

Author's note: Hi! I'm back! Thank you for the barrage of the lovely reviews for _Paper Hearts!_ I feel so happy this fic is getting lots of love from you guys!

On another note, I'm on my internship right now, so I will only be able to update this fic at least once a week. I do hope you guys understand.

Next chapter will be part 2 of Shouto and Kaede's "date"! (I should probably be thinking of their ship name or something but I'm bad at those sorts of things lol)

Just a quick PSA: If you're interested in Dabi, I have uploaded a new fanfic, it's called _Ashes and Embers_. It's in a different style compared to my usual fluff fics, but if you're in the mood for something different, check it out! It's up on my profile~

Anyways, reviews are highly appreciated as always! I hope you all are having a wonderful day!


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